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Salient: Victoria University Students' Paper. Vol. 25. No. 13. 1962

Nelson Wattie

Nelson Wattie

"The greatest enemies of the greatest things in University life, are affectation and insincerity. Both of these are rife at Vic. possibly as a reaction against the collar and tie brigade," says Nelson Wattle.

Wattie is prominent in Vic. cultural life as singer and actor and in his position as president of the recently - formed Contemporary Arts Society.

He said his society was committed to combining the various arts active within this University and especially, on the personal level, to encouraging creative students to discuss their common problems and aims.

"Generally," Mr Wattie said, "Vic. is like a Public Service department in comparison to Auckland. There is more of a rat race here, people are more concerned in the attainment of academic qualifications than in the development of their personalities." Even so, he did concede that the number of culturally alive students within both institutions is relatively small with a lot of dead wood surrounding the central core of activity.

He had no time for gloom, however, in contemplating this situation for he feels that the atmosphere at Vic. is livening up, and especially that students are encouraging more of an awareness of the University as a society. He did not consider that students should be concerned primarily with the absorption of knowledge, but rather of the discussion of ideas. Tutorials in part provide this means of discussion but they rely to a large extent on the individuals involved.

Understandably, he winced slightly when asked what he expected from a University. But having had time to collect his thoughts he was able to put his attitude succinctly. "I want to find my individual talents, by testing them," he said, "and then I want to be able to develop them."